Rockets have no worries about Dwight people problems

While we’re waiting for Orlando to accept the Rockets trade offer and put Houston NBA fans out of their collective misery, let’s talk about one of the more off-base objections I continue to get from Rockets fans concerning a possible Dwight Howard trade.

What will we have left after “gutting” the team, you ask. Especially after the team decided to amnesty Luis Scola off the roster.

Give me a break. Daryl Morey isn’t breaking up the Beatles and ruining a string of No. 1 hits here.

Gasoline was about $1.15 a gallon the last time the Rockets were a threat to win the NBA title. Yeah, it’s been awhile.

Check the standings, the Rockets have not made the playoffs in the last three years. Scola, Kyle Lowry and Chase Budinger could play for me, but they’re not John, Paul and George, and Samuel Dalembert certainly isn’t Ringo.

Will the Rockets end up with Dwight Howard and some scrubs? No. But if so, would that be so bad?

This is where it should be noted that Morey knows what the heck he is doing. He hasn’t closed on a major deal as of yet, but he has done a heck of a job finding spare parts.

Perhaps he shouldn’t be out front representing the organization on the big deals, but we’ll argue that on another day.

You’re upset about Lowry? What are the Rockets going to do to replace him?

Well, when Morey plucked him from Memphis, Lowry was averaging 21 minutes, 7.6 points and 3.6 assists a game.

You’re upset about losing Scola? What are the Rockets going to do to replace him?

Well, Morey got Scola and Jackie Butler from the San Antonio Spurs for Vassilis Spanoulis, who has played zero games in the NBA since the trade, and had played only 31 NBA games before it, averaging all of 2.7 points per game.

You’re upset about losing Budinger? What are the Rockets going to do to replace him?

Well, you know the relative value most of us think of those No. 14 picks in the draft that the Rockets have had for three years running? Budinger was a No. 14 pick too. In the second round (No. 44 overall). That’s how good most of the league thought he was.

My point?

Don’t fret the small stuff. Morey knows how to fill out a roster. He would find players to fit around a Howard, and he has the salary cap flexibility with which to do it.

As for the argument that Howard with a bunch of non-stars wouldn’t be an upgrade over what the Rockets currently have … please.

Howard and some scrubs would be better than what the Rockets have been putting on the court in recent years.

Since Morey had been with Houston, Howard and his non-stars have gone 299-177, with six playoff trips and six playoff series victories, while the Rockets have gone 279-197 with three playoff trips and one playoff series victory.

In the last three years, Howard and no other stars are 148-82, while the Rockets with no star and no other stars are 119-111.